Though collisions of bulk carriers and other vessels often result in oil spills, some perspective is due: they’re nothing compared to the tens and sometimes hundreds of thousands of tonnes of oil spilled when oil tankers collide. Here’s a look at the statistics for oil tankers (pdf):

However, for all types of ships, human error continues to be the main cause of collisions, according to Dr. Sven Gerhard of Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty. “For some commercial ship-owners, especially in the hard-pressed bulk cargo and tanker sectors, there is little money for maintenance and little money for training,” he explained.